Can carrier with foldable handle



Oct. 21, 1952 G. H. PARKER 2,614,737

CAN CARRIER WITH FOLDARLE HANDLE Filed Aug. 24, 1950 4 lll/111111111111.

Patented Oct. 2.1, 1W952 I efliciencyvof the carrier. 1

A- `One of theobje'cts"` of this inventionis-the provision ofa can carrier yof Athetype:referredvto which-.can 'be formed from `a single blank of paperboard`vsuitably lcreased and A cut `so Vthat the parts may be Asecured vby adhesive and staples, or other securing means, to produce the finished carriers in flat, collapsed for-in ready for delivery to 'a user.y Anotherobjectof fthe inventioniis to secure thehandle of the carrier'in such a manner thatafter the carriers are filled withwc'ans lor similar `articles Athey may be vpacked into'larger containers, Vvor stacked in any desired manner,-

bodying 'the' present vinvention `illustratingthe carrier-in assembled position readyWto-receivey th cans for which itis designed;

j Fig. '2111s an enlargedcross sectional View, taken along the linefZ-Z'of Fig. 1, rshowing'theposition offthe Vupperv portion I of the --pa'rtition relative to the handleJ forming flanges when the handle-isin vertical position;

Fig'.--3is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view, similar to Fig. 2 showing the handle folded nat against the top -o'f the ycan carrier; fEig. Mis-fa fragmentaryf'eerspectivedetail-view of the can carrier showing the :position .of theA partition relative to thestaple; vand Fig. 5 is a' top elevational view of the blank from which the can carrier embodying thep'resent invention is made.

The j c'an carrier 4of Ithe Rpresent invention'is preferably formed vto provide a convenient carryou't for-al 'retail' store vcustomer to *take home six cans ofy beverage or AVfood,r and 1vis particularly designed l'so that the-lledfcarriers may be-packed in large containers for transportation from the Georlgrer H. Barker, C hicago,aI\ll., .fassignor A1150.100115 tainer Corporation of America, hicago, fIlL-,na i corporationof Delaware Y Application'august 24, 195g, slayi'aliNe 131,213v

comme. (c1. fata-445) packer to the wholesaler, ljobber or retailer. The carrier is made with a carrying handle thatrmayv be folded flat against the lled carrier, and a centrally disposed reinforcing partition .extend-l ing between ythe'flanges forming the handle is particularly designed to permit the partition `toslip relative to the fianges when the-handle lis folded. Thisrelati-ve slippage between the parti-tion and the flanges protects the partition against-being'torn by the staples or other fasteningelement's securing the flanges together to form the 1handle `when the handle lis folded.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the carrier as herein disclosed-comprises av-d pair of horizontal bottom wallpan'els 2y and 3, vertical side wall panels 4 and 5, horizontal topwall panels 6 and l, vertically extending handle forming flanges 8 and 9, a centrally disposed, vertically extending partition vI Il, and a glue vflap I I.

The horizontal bottom wall panels are each formed withv a pair of arcuate -cut-out tabs I2- and I3 which are folded upwardly out ofthe panels-through an angle of approximatelyl 180 soas to underlie cans inserted into the carrier and engage the inner-radius of the flanges of the outerA cans tofprevent accidental longitudinal dis-` placement of the cans after they have been positioned in the carrier. The edgesof the top flanges of the outer -cans are similarly lengaged by'tabs I4 and I5 foldedinwa-rdly and-downwardly from the topwall panels 6 and 1.

lThe carrying handle is formed by the flanges 8 and .ll which are folded downwardly along-the flange `r ytol thehorizontaltopwall-panel 6 ande the ange 9 tothe panel 1, respectively, but are preferably positioned immediately adjacent the fold lines 23 and 24.

AWhen a -plurality -of filled carriers lis Itrans- I ported from the packer or wholesaler to -the-re 3 lapsed condition and iilled by the retailer so that packing of the filled carriers in large containers is unnecessary. However, even under these conditions some retailers will fill a quantity of carriers and stack them so that the handles are folded against the top of the carriers. When the handle is folded downwardly against the top of the carrier the fold klines 23 and 24, and the .fold lines 25 and 26, which connect top panel 6 to side panel 4 and top panel 1 to side panel l5,

respectively. permit theanges 8 and 9 to move in either direction without binding. The partition ill, however, is relatively xed at its bottom edge because the cans hold the bottom wall panels 2 and 3 rigidly. The lower edge of partition I0 is connected to bottom panel 3 by a fold line 21 and to panel 2 by the glue flap Il to which it is adhered. Consequently, the partition I cannot move with the same freedom as iianges 8 and 9.7

In order to permit the partition to be folded with the flanges S and 9 without causing the partition to be torn 'by the staples I8 or similar fastening elements, the cut away areas of the partition adjacent the shoulders I9 and 29 are large enough to permit the staples to secure the llanges 8 and 9 together without penetration and preferably without contacting any part oi' the partition. When the handle is folded out o1? its vertical plane, l-the partition l0 is folded around a'pivot formed by the lower edge of either flange y3 or 9 and the inner edge of the adjacent top wall panel t or l. As the handle is folded along fold lines 23 or 24, respectively, the upper portion of partition I9 must move a greater distance than the iianges 8 and 9 because the lower portion of partition lil is relatively fixed, and-consequently, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the upper portion of the partition slips relatively to the flanges 3 and 9. Such movement would, cause the staples 22 to tear the partition i9 if the partition was secured to the anges 8 and 9 by the staples. The upper portion ofthe partition iii is positioned loosely between the flanges 8 and 9, and the shoulders i9 and 29 are preferably positioned far enough above the staples 22 so that when the handle is folded over against the top of the carrier the partition slips relative to the flanges 8 and 9 without causing the shoulders to come into con-v tact'witli the staples. The shoulders I9 and 20 prevent the partition from becoming accidentally displaced from its position between the flanges.

To facilitate carrying the filled carrier the anges 8 and 9 are preferably provided with partially cut out tabs 28 and 29 which may be folded to form a hand hold. The partition l0 is preferably provided with an opening 30 to register with the opening formed by folding the tabs 24 and 25.

While the present description sets forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, certain changes may be made in the construction with-v ut departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is therefore desired that the present embodiment be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to the appended claims ratherthan to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention. I claim: 1. A can carrier formed of paperboard or the like, comprising a pair of parallel compartments separated by a centrally disposed partition, each of said compartments having a top wall, the

inner edges of the top walls terminating adjacent opposite faces of the partition, a ilange extending upwardly from the inner edge of each of the top walls, a plurality of staples joining the flanges together to form a carrying handle, the partition extending between said flanges to reinforce the handle, the side edges of said partition being recessed to provide clearancefor the staples, wherebyl the staples may secure the handle forming flanges together without penetrating the partition to permit folding of the carrying handle substantially flat against either top wall without tearing the partition.

l2. A can carrier comprising a partition and a pair of anges positioned adjacent opposite faces'of the partition to form a carrying handle, a plurality of staples securing the flanges together, aportion of each of the side edges of the partition being formed to extend inwardly to the staples adjacent thereto to permit said partition slidably to t between the flanges without being penetrated by the j staples, and a pair of shoulders formed on said partition to prevent accidental displacement of the partition.

3. A can carrier of the character described comprising, a single integral length oi material such as paperboard, cut, scored and folded to provide a bottom wall, a top wall, opposite side walls connecting the bottom and `top walls in spaced relation'to one another, a partition member extending upwardly medially of said bottom Wall to a place medially of said top wall and in a plane generally parallel to the planes of said side walls, a pair of parallel handle-forming flanges disposed medially of said top wall and having their planessubstantially parallel to the plane of said partition, the said flanges having hinged connection with said top wall along parallel score lines for movements together from said position parallel to said partition to a position substantially parallel to` said top wall, said partition having a handle-reenforcing portion hinged thereto along its upper end on a line adjacent and parallel to said flange score lines and projecting upwardly between said anges, said handle-reenforcingportion having notched side edges providing a pair of downwardly facing edgesl disposed in spaced relation to one another andlyingwithin the areas of the adjacent iaces of said anges, and securing means such as staples passing through said flanges out of contact with said reenforcing portion of said partition and adjacent to and spaced from said downwardly facing edges and in the path of Amovement of said edgesv on movement of said reenforcing portion ldownward in a vertical direction relatively to said anges when saidiianges and reenforcing portion are swung together about said score lines to said position paralleling said top wall.

GEORGE H. PARKER.

REFERENCESV CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Forrer Jan. 9, 1951 

